Brett Favre apologizes for accidentally supporting a right wing hate group

Brett Favre looks on during a game against the New England Patriots on September 14, 2008 at the Meadowlands, (Chris McGrath / Getty Images)

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre is recovering from an embarrassing fumble that happened last week.

The 20-year NFL veteran, who spent the 2008 season with the Jets, apologized on Facebook Saturday for recording a video advocating for a white supremacy group.

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Favre said he was duped into recording a message crafted by a right wing group he mistook for an organization that champions veteran’s affairs. The deal was brokered through an app called Cameo, which lets organizations solicit personal messages from celebrities for $500.

“Since I match service dogs with military veterans who have PTSD, I assumed that the request stemmed from my interest in veterans affairs and recorded the message,” Favre wrote.

“A few days later, I was distressed to learn that the request came from an anti-Semitic group that reposted my video with comments implying that I endorsed their mission,” according to the 49-year-old Mississippi native. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

On November 22, I received a request to record a shout-out supporting what appeared to be a U.S. veterans organization...

Buzzfeed identified the group in question as the Goyim Defense League. Their reporter claimed to have seen the video before it was taken down, but decided against reposting it.

“You guys are patriots in my eyes,” Favre reportedly said. “So keep waking them up and don’t let the small get you down.”

According to Buzzfeed, the video is “loaded with coded anti-Semitic language” including “small,” which is a reference to people who wear “small hats,” meaning yarmulkes.

“Like most Americans, I am sickened by what these groups stand for and concerned about their role in fueling today’s negative political climate,” Favre wrote on Facebook. “I thought I was creating a message to support the brave men and women of our military forces.”

Favre urged his fans to be vigilant in avoiding being duped by such scams and vowed to do the same. He also said he’d return the $500 he made for recording the post — something he’s done “more than 50 times” without incident — to anti-hatred causes.

Favre was in the league for more than 18 years before finally missing a game and has thrown more passes than any quarterback in history. He also became the first quarterback to throw 500 touchdown passes before retiring in 2010. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Brett Favre said he was duped into recording an anti-Semitic message (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)